Knucklehead Award Friday Part One

Some people call the day after Thanksgiving 'Black Friday' because of all that shopping that is done this day. Instead here at TFM we'll have Knucklehead Friday! Knuckleheads and only Knuckleheads for twenty-four hours. Sound like fun?

Our first winner is Robert Butler. He gets the award for the following.

When Robert Butler sped at 103 mph in a 55 mph construction zone on Interstate 95 near Okeechobee Boulevard early Monday, Cpl. Kevin Strickland knew he would charge him with reckless driving, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tim Frith said.

But Strickland was shocked to see a 13-year-old boy asleep in the front seat of the silver van.

"He said, `I was amazed, I was amazed,'" Frith said. "`When I walked up there and a saw that child in that car, I couldn't believe it.'"

Strickland charged Butler with child abuse without great harm, a third-degree felony, in addition to the misdemeanor reckless-driving charge.

It is thought to be the first time in the state a driver was charged with child abuse without being charged with driving under the influence, Frith said. Even in the DUI cases, the driver had a blood alcohol level above 0.20, well above the legal limit of 0.08, Frith said.

A state law enacted Oct. 1 requires a mandatory court appearance for anyone going 30 miles over the speed limit, Frith said.

Butler, 38, who lives west of West Palm Beach, had a suspended license and the smell of alcohol on his breath, according to the FHP. But he did not seem drunk, so a breath test was not performed, Frith said. Butler's license was suspended twice before for failure to pay fines, records show.

Did Butler commit child abuse or child endangerment? I don't know the legal differences between the two, but to me it would seem the later. It don't matter, Robert Butler put his son's life in danger by his reckless driving and for that he is today's first Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Samantha Burns, Jo's Cafe,